The Amateur Mycologist - Random Find - Likely Agaricus campestris - The Field MushroomsteemCreated with Sketch.

in #steemstem7 years ago (edited)

These posts are not for foraging. They are intended for entertainment and intellectual satisfaction only. These posts are not a field guide nor comprehensive in any way - their accuracy is not assured in any way. Do not eat wild mushrooms unless you are a professional, have substantial professional assistance or have a wealth of personal experience with a specific species. Do not make any foraging decisions based on these posts. To do so could be dangerous or life threatening.

These Posts Contains No Information Regarding Edibility Or Toxicity



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Does that mushroom look familiar?

It ought to - it is a very close cousin to the most popular mushroom in North America, A.bisporus, which we covered in the last full species post. Except, unlike A.bisporus, this little mushroom was not bought in a supermarket, but found right outside my apartment building in the now mulch covered lawn.

I actually love this particular photo of the mushroom. It highlights the free, gorgeous fresh pink of the young gills, the clear, un-deteriorated veil remnant, the perfect white of the cap, lack of a volva or egg, and even the smooth hint of the 1cm or so thick stem. It's a beautiful mushroom.

Just looking at this picture I am fairly certain that that this mushroom falls in the Agaricus genus. The terrestrial origin, white cap, partial veil, lack of a volva, and especially the pink gills are all giveaways for the genus.

But to get to a species we have a ways to go. Let's chop this beauty in half


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There are some important things to take note of here

First, the flesh, when originally cut, was completely white, through and through. However, with just a little bit of time, there was a touch of discoloration in the damaged mushroom flesh. You can see the slightest pink/red discoloration in the flesh on the piece to the right. This is actually super important.

There are many species of Agaricus mushroom, not just limited to A. bisporus, and they can be difficult to tell apart. One important question is whether the mushroom's flesh discolors when damaged and, if it does, what color? There are three main possibilities - no discoloration (Like A.Bisporus), yellow discoloration (like A.xanthodermus, or a slight to substantial pink/red discoloration.

Even in this latter possibility, there are still species with distinct effects. For instance, if this mushroom discolored a more vibrant red, I might consider that it was A.silvaticus. However, the discoloration of the mushroom I got here never progressed beyond the slight pinkish red color you see in the photo above. Multiple sources cite to this effect in newer, moist specimens of A.campestris.

The side shot of the bifurcated mushroom is also edifying


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This gives a good look at the veil on one side of the mushroom.

You can see that the veil is still barely attached to the mushroom cap. If I had gotten to this specimen perhaps half a day or so sooner, the veil would have been covering the young mushroom's gills entirely. As the cap expands, the veil pulls away from the gills and the remnant of the veil will often be left as a ring on the stem. However, this can fall off with time, so it is not a dispositive trait to rely on with Agaricus mushrooms.

There is no picture for this next trait, but it is also super important for ID'ing an Agaricus - SMELL

The smell of an Agaricus mushroom will usually fall into one of roughly three categories:

  1. Plain, pleasant and mushroomy
  2. Sweet, almost almondy
  3. Heavily chemical and/or foul

This final odor is referred to as "phenolic" - and will often smell of asphalt or other chemicals. I found a mushroom with this odor once before and could not keep my nose to it for long. The odor can be very distasteful.

The mushroom I found here smelled pleasantly mushroomy, without almond. Let's get a spore print.


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The spore print is absolutely essential in order to determine, for a certainty, whether a mushroom is in the Agaricus genus

There are several mushrooms that look somewhat like Agaricus mushrooms - they are sometimes confused for white gilled or white spore colored Amanitas for instance. The Agaricus mushroom will usually, but not always, have pink gills when young. However, even if the gills of the Agaricus mushroom do not start out pink, they will definitely turn chocolate brown with time, and the spore print will be a similar brown color.

Above you see the halves of the mushroom cap being left on a glass pyrex container.

Let's take a look several hours later


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Chocolate brown spore print

Over time, the mushroom has deposited its spores en masse onto the glass, revealing the brown spore print which confirms this mushroom is in the Agaricus genus. **Given the pink young gill color, odor, and pinkish/red bruising discoloration, I am about 95% certain that this mushroom was A. campestris, or the Meadow/Field Mushroom.


If I'm so certain this is A.campestris, why did I make this a "Random Find" instead of a species post?

Excellent question you may or may not have asked yourself. Either way, let me give you the answer which might explain how my mushroom posts come out the way they do.

There are two glaring issues with the identification I've made here:

  1. I only have one example of the mushroom to go by, roughly in the middle of its maturation cycle. Before I write a species post using my own pictures, I like to have examples of the species in every phase of its maturation; and, perhaps more importantly
  2. This mushroom was not growing in exactly the right kind of place!

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There is a reason that A.campestris is referred to as the Field or Meadow mushroom

It is supposed to grow in Fields or Meadows - meaning on lawns or grass. However, this mushroom was growing in the mulched area at the front of my apartment building. Now, not to long ago I think the area under that mulch was a dying lawn, which would be a more appropriate growth medium for A.campestris. But I certainly can't confirm whether the mushroom was growing on the mulch or on material beneath the mulch.

Given that gap in knowledge, I decided to play it safe and characterize this post as a "random find" rather than a species post.


THIS POST IS NOT INTENDED FOR FORAGING PURPOSES AND TO USE IT FOR THOSE PURPOSES WOULD BE DANGEROUS. DO NOT HUNT WILD MUSHROOMS WITHOUT RELYING ON A COMBINATION OF PROFESSIONAL FIELD GUIDES, IN PERSON PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE, OR IN PERSON GUIDANCE BY SOMEONE TRUSTWORTHY WHO HAS COPIOUS LOCAL, SPECIALIZED MUSHROOM HUNTING EXPERIENCE. FAILURE TO DO SO CAN RESULT IN GRIEVOUS PERSONAL HARM OR DEATH.



Photos Are My Own

Information Sources:
[1]Kuo On A.campestris
[2]Wikipedia on A.campestris
[3]First Nature on A.campestris
[4]Kuo on A.xanthodermus
[5]First Nature on A.silvaticus



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Also, I'm testing out putting this in #Homesteading again - I have had a lot of consistent support and engagement from the homesteading community and I am pretty straightforward about my disclaimers - so let's see how this goes over. I'm very open to criticism of the decision.



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Hi!! I'm new here and excited to see another mushroom nerd like myself. :-) Great post highlighting key points in mycology and identification. I love that you left this as a unknown. ALWAYS better safe than sorry when it comes to mushrooms. Keep up the good work, I'll be following.

Our numbers are growing here on Steemit! Met a couple of new mushroom enthusiasts in the last week. Looking forward to seeing your content!

Great! Resteem them so I can find them too!! haha I'll be posting my pickled chicken of the woods recipe today as my first mushroom post. We have been finding so much yumminess in the forest lately and have been knocking on multiple doors a week to get permission to harvest lion's mane and maitake from random people's yards. I feel like the crazy mushroom lady lately and definitely get those looks when I stop to beat on a someones door. haha Looking forward to your future posts!

That's very funny - and very upstanding of you! Not so many enjoy the mushrooms that grow on their property, but better safe than sorry, cause you know that one fanatic whose Lion's mane you take is gonna go crazy. ;)

I used to talk more about edibility in my posts and decided against it - but if you're knowledgable and detailed there is a big steemit market for that information in homesteading and foraging, just fyi. I will certainly be checking it out!

Very good to know!! And yes, I'd go crazy if someone took a lions mane out of my yard I had watching and waiting to mature. lol I'll definitely be sharing identification posts on foraging periodically. There is so much I'm uncomfortable with when it comes to mushrooms but I do have about 30 species where I'm pretty confident. I have an identification and safety certification in these species and a permit to forage to sell them in 3 USA states. I'll never post anything in confidence I have doubts about and feel like there should always be a liability statement too. I'm looking forward to watching/reading your posts! Thanks so much for the encouragement...I've been on steemit less than 24 hours now and have met so many nice people!

That's awesome! 30 species is a ton to feel that comfortable about. I imagine it encompasses the big names in edibility, but with that many you must have more obscure ones under your belt as well. I would be interested in a post just about that and your licensure - didn't even know they had licenses like that in the US, although it makes sense.

Good idea to do a post about it!! It's a fairly new law and this is the first year my state (NC) has a certification process. I'm still trying to educate my chefs and fellow foraging friends about the necessity of it...not everyone is happy about the change but I personally think it was a wise move.

Oh definitely - it always seemed crazy to me that people could just sell found mushrooms without vetting their skillset. Once a restaurant is serving wild mushrooms people will drop their guards entirely and assume they're safe. So the vetting definitely should be done before hand, at least to establish a baseline of skill. Though I understand how this might frustrate individuals who make their living off the trade.

thank you for this post! Just started into mushrooms this year myself - with a friend's help who is slowly teaching me... my favorite so far is Sparassis crispa, called Krauseglucke in German... following you now to speed up my learning lol cheers from the seven mountains in Germany

Thanks for the tip. You certainly know your mushrooms.

I know less than I'd like - but more everyday - thanks for checking it out.

Very nice post. Thanks for the comprehensive identification. It's informative.

Thanks - Agaricus can be a bit tricky but key details really help.

Good post.. The mushrooms (Calvatia gigantia) are so tasty

Hmmm... these are not C.gigantia, unless thats just a total non sequitor?

I found a very similar if not the same mushroom in our lawn a couple months ago.

If it pops up again you can go through the detailed ID process. I find it very fulfilling.

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